2019–20 NFL playoffs, Divisional playoffs, Sunday, January 12, 2020, AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 51, Houston Texans 31
The next time Houston got the ball, they drove 48 yards in nine plays to a fourth-and-inches on the Chiefs 13-yard line. The Texans lined up to go for it. However, after having to call a timeout with the play clock running down, Texans coach Bill O'Brien changed his mind because he did not like their play call. So, rather than risk a potential turnover on downs, the Texans settled for Ka'imi Fairbairn's 31-yard field goal to go up by 24 at the 10:54 mark of the second quarter.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Divisional playoffs, Sunday, January 12, 2020, AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 51, Houston Texans 31
This would be the extent of their success, as the Chiefs went from being down 0-24 as late as 10:05 remaining in the 2nd quarter, to trailing 14–24 at the 8:05 mark, then 21–24 at 6:31, and finally taking the lead 28–24 at 0:44 remaining in the first half. The scoring would go on to be 51–7 in favor of the Chiefs from that 10:54 point in the 2nd quarter. First, Mecole Hardman returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards to Houston's 42-yard line.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Divisional playoffs, Sunday, January 12, 2020, AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 51, Houston Texans 31
Patrick Mahomes then threw a 25-yard pass to Kelce to get in the red zone before hitting running back Damien Williams for a 17-yard touchdown. After Houston went three-and-out on their next drive, they attempted a fake punt on fourth-and-4 with a direct snap to Justin Reid who was tackled by Daniel Sorensen two yards short, giving Kansas City the ball at the Texans 33. Johnson was then called for pass interference to put the ball at the five before Mahomes hit Kelce in the end zone to cut the deficit to 10.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Divisional playoffs, Sunday, January 12, 2020, AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 51, Houston Texans 31
On the ensuing kickoff, DeAndre Carter fumbled the ball due to a hit by Sorenson, and it went right into the arms of Kansas City's Darwin Thompson, who returned it to the Houston 6-yard line. Mahomes then threw his third touchdown pass in less than four minutes, and his second to Kelce, to make the score 24–21.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Divisional playoffs, Sunday, January 12, 2020, AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 51, Houston Texans 31
Taking possession at their own 10 with 2:47 left in the quarter, the Chiefs went on a 90-yard drive that included another pass interference on Johnson, while Mahomes rushed twice for 35 yards and completed a pair of 20-yard passes to Hill and Kelce. Finally, with 44 seconds left in the half, Mahomes threw another five-yard touchdown to Kelce to give the Chiefs their first lead of the game, 28–24. Mahomes' four touchdown passes in the second quarter tied an NFL postseason record set by Doug Williams in Super Bowl XXII. Fairbairn missed a 51-yard field goal as time expired in the half as the Chiefs became the first team in NFL history to fall behind by as many as 20 points in the first half but still lead at halftime.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Divisional playoffs, Sunday, January 12, 2020, AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 51, Houston Texans 31
The Chiefs would extend their lead on the opening possession of the third quarter, going 85 yards in seven plays, the longest a 48-yard catch by Sammy Watkins. Williams ran the ball in from the goal-line, increasing their lead to 34–24 after Harrison Butker missed the extra point. After forcing another Texans punt, the Chiefs took advantage of another pass interference penalty against Houston and a 28-yard completion from Mahomes to Kelce, scoring on their sixth straight possession with another Williams touchdown run to give them a 41–24 lead with 4:39 left in the quarter. Houston finally snapped Kansas City's 41-point run when Watson completed 4 passes for 80 yards and finished the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run, making the score 41–31 with 24 seconds left in the third quarter.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Divisional playoffs, Sunday, January 12, 2020, AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 51, Houston Texans 31
Kansas City would make it seven touchdowns in a row, setting a new postseason record, on a drive that included a 23-yard pass to Kelce and a 28-yard completion to Watkins, putting the ball at the Houston 8. Mahomes then found Blake Bell in the end zone, making the score 48–31. On Houston's next drive, they turned the ball over on downs at the Chiefs 42. A pair of runs by Williams for gains of 11 and 26 yard to set up Butker's 24-yard field goal with 8:06 left to put Kansas City up by 20. Houston then turned the ball over on downs on their final two possessions, the last coming when Frank Clark sacked Watson for a 17-yard loss on fourth-and-8 from the Kansas City 8-yard line.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Divisional playoffs, Sunday, January 12, 2020, AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 51, Houston Texans 31
Mahomes finished the game 23/35 for 321 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. He was also the leading rusher with 53 yards on seven carries. Kelce had 10 catches for 134 yards and three touchdowns, tying a Super Bowl-era postseason record. Hardman had six kickoff returns for 142 yards. Williams rushed for 47 yards, caught two passes for 21 yards, and scored three touchdowns. Watson threw for 388 yards and two touchdowns, while DeAndre Hopkins had 118 yards on nine catches. Kansas City's 24-point comeback was the fourth largest in postseason history.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Divisional playoffs, Sunday, January 12, 2020, NFC: Green Bay Packers 28, Seattle Seahawks 23
Despite being nearly even in total yards (375–344) and both sides avoiding turnovers, the Packers built a 21–3 halftime lead and withstood a Seattle second-half comeback to earn their fourth trip to the NFC title game under quarterback Aaron Rodgers.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Divisional playoffs, Sunday, January 12, 2020, NFC: Green Bay Packers 28, Seattle Seahawks 23
Green Bay got the ball first and on their first play, Aaron Jones ran for a 23-yard gain to the Packers 48-yard line, beginning a drive that culminated with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Davante Adams. Later in the quarter, Seattle receiver David Moore's 10-yard punt return gave the Seahawks a first down on their own 42. Russell Wilson's subsequent 28-yard completion to Tyler Lockett set up a 45-yard field goal by Jason Myers that made the score 7–3.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Divisional playoffs, Sunday, January 12, 2020, NFC: Green Bay Packers 28, Seattle Seahawks 23
Rodgers then completed 4/5 passes for 52 yards on a nine-play, 75-yard drive. Jones finished it off with a 1-yard touchdown run to give Green Bay a 14–3 lead in the second quarter. Then, after Myers missed a 50-yard field goal attempt, the Packers got the ball on their own 40. Receiver Tyler Ervin opened the drive with an 18-yard run on an end around play. Nine plays later, Jones finished the drive with his second 1-yard touchdown run, increasing Green Bay's lead to 21–3 with 1:30 left in the half.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Divisional playoffs, Sunday, January 12, 2020, NFC: Green Bay Packers 28, Seattle Seahawks 23
On the opening drive of the second half, Wilson ran for a 24-yard gain and completed a 24-yard pass to DK Metcalf as the Seahawks drove 69 yards in 10 plays to score on Marshawn Lynch's 1-yard touchdown run, cutting their deficit to 21–10. However, Green Bay stormed right back in just five plays, as Rodgers completed a 27-yard pass to tight end Jimmy Graham before throwing the ball to Adams for a 40-yard score, putting them back up at 28–10. Seattle responded with Wilson completing 5/6 passes for 48 yards and rushing four times for 26 on the way to a 28–17 score on his 7-yard touchdown pass to Lockett with 39 seconds left in the quarter.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Divisional playoffs, Sunday, January 12, 2020, NFC: Green Bay Packers 28, Seattle Seahawks 23
After a Green Bay punt, Wilson completed four consecutive passes for 68 yards on the way to a 1-yard touchdown run by Lynch, making the score 28–23 after a failed two-point conversion try. But the next time they got the ball, Seattle had to punt with 2:41 left on the clock. Green Bay was able to run out the time with their ensuing possession, picking up two key first downs on third down completions. When faced with third-and-8 after two plays, Rodgers completed a 32-yard pass to Adams. Then when faced with third-and-9, Rodgers' 9-yard pass to Graham picked a first down that enabled the team to run out the rest of the clock.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Divisional playoffs, Sunday, January 12, 2020, NFC: Green Bay Packers 28, Seattle Seahawks 23
Rodgers completed 16/27 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 14 yards. Adams caught eight passes for 160 yards and two scores. Green Bay defensive ends Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith each had two sacks. Wilson finished the day 21/31 for 277 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 64 yards. Lockett was his top target, with nine receptions for 136 yards and a score.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Conference Championships, Sunday, January 19, 2020, AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 35, Tennessee Titans 24
This was the first AFC Championship game since 2010 not to feature the New England Patriots. It was also the first AFC Championship game since 2002, and only the third of the 21st century, not to feature Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or Ben Roethlisberger as a starting quarterback.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Conference Championships, Sunday, January 19, 2020, AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 35, Tennessee Titans 24
For the second week in a row, Kansas City came back from a deficit to defeat a team that had beaten them in the regular season, this time recovering from an early 10–0 hole to earn their first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years. The Chiefs outgained Tennessee in total yards 404–295, while holding their explosive running back Derrick Henry to just 61 yards from scrimmage, with negative yardage in the second half.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Conference Championships, Sunday, January 19, 2020, AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 35, Tennessee Titans 24
Tennessee took the opening kickoff and converted Ryan Tannehill's 37-yard completion to A. J. Brown into a 30-yard field goal by Greg Joseph. Kansas City went three-and-out on their first drive, and Kalif Raymond returned their punt 9 yards to the Titans 42-yard line. Tennessee then drove 58 yards in 9 plays, including a 3-yard catch by Adam Humphries on fourth-and-2. On the next play, Tannehill completed a 22-yard pass to Jonnu Smith on the Chiefs 4-yard line.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Conference Championships, Sunday, January 19, 2020, AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 35, Tennessee Titans 24
Then Henry took a snap from wildcat formation and ran into the end zone for a 4-yard score, giving Tennessee a 10–0 lead. This time the Chiefs were able to respond, driving 69 yards in 10 plays, the longest a 26-yard completion from Patrick Mahomes to Tyreek Hill. Hill's 8-yard touchdown catch on the last play made the score 10–7 with 51 seconds left in the first quarter.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Conference Championships, Sunday, January 19, 2020, AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 35, Tennessee Titans 24
The Titans struck back with a 15-play, 74-yard drive that took 9:07 off the clock. Tannehill finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to offensive tackle Dennis Kelly on a tackle-eligible play that put the team back up by 10 points. Mecole Hardman returned the ensuing kickoff 35 yards to his own 35-yard line. From there, Kansas City drove 65 yards in 5 plays, the longest a 24-yard completion from Mahomes to Demarcus Robinson. On the last play, Mahomes threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Hill, cutting their deficit to 17–14.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Conference Championships, Sunday, January 19, 2020, AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 35, Tennessee Titans 24
Then after a punt, Mahomes completed 4 passes for 41 yards and rushed for 7 before taking off for a 27-yard touchdown run in which he evaded five Titans players on the way to the end zone. This gave the Chiefs a 21–17 lead with 23 seconds left in the half.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Conference Championships, Sunday, January 19, 2020, AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 35, Tennessee Titans 24
After a pair of punts to start the second half, Kansas City drove 73 yards in 13 plays to go up 28–17 on Damien Williams' 3-yard touchdown run. On their next drive, the Chiefs put the game completely out of reach with Mahomes' 60-yard touchdown pass to Sammy Watkins, giving them a 35–17 lead with 7:44 left on the clock. Tennessee responded by driving 80 yards in 8 plays, including a fake punt in which punter Brett Kern threw a 28-yard pass to Amani Hooker. Tannehill finished the drive with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Firkser, making the final score 35–24, and sending the Chiefs to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1970.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Conference Championships, Sunday, January 19, 2020, AFC: Kansas City Chiefs 35, Tennessee Titans 24
Mahomes completed 23/35 passes for 294 yards and three touchdowns, while also leading Kansas City in rushing with eight carries for 53 yards and a score. Watkins caught seven passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. Tannehill completed 21/31 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 11 yards.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Conference Championships, Sunday, January 19, 2020, NFC: San Francisco 49ers 37, Green Bay Packers 20
San Francisco lost starting running back Tevin Coleman to injury for most of the game, but this proved to be a non-issue as Raheem Mostert ran wild over the Packers with a franchise record 220 rushing yards and four touchdowns, both the second highest totals in NFL postseason history.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Conference Championships, Sunday, January 19, 2020, NFC: San Francisco 49ers 37, Green Bay Packers 20
On the 49ers second possession of the game, Jimmy Garoppolo completed a pair of passes to Deebo Samuel for gains of 16 and 30 yards before Mostert stormed into the end zone on a 36-yard touchdown run. Green Bay was soon forced to punt, and Richie James returned it 26 yards to the San Francisco 49-yard line, setting up Robbie Gould's 54-yard field goal to give the team a 10–0 lead.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Conference Championships, Sunday, January 19, 2020, NFC: San Francisco 49ers 37, Green Bay Packers 20
In the second quarter, a sack by K'Waun Williams forced a fumble. Green Bay recovered the ball, but lost 10 yards and had to punt from their own 14. J. K. Scott's 23-yard kick gave the 49ers great field position on the Packers 37. San Francisco then drove 37 yards in 6 plays to take a 17–0 lead on Mostert's 9-yard touchdown run. The Packers responded with a drive to the 49ers 25-yard line, only to lose the ball when quarterback Aaron Rodgers fumbled a snap, which was recovered by San Francisco lineman DeForest Buckner.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Conference Championships, Sunday, January 19, 2020, NFC: San Francisco 49ers 37, Green Bay Packers 20
The 49ers went on to drive 60 yards in 8 plays, including a 34-yard burst from Mostert. Gould finished the drive with a 27-yard field goal, increasing the team's lead to 20–0 after the two minute warning. Then Rodgers threw a pass that was intercepted by Emmanuel Moseley, who returned it 9 yards to the Green Bay 30-yard line. Mostert then took the ball to the end zone with three straight carries, the last an 18-yard touchdown run that gave San Francisco a 27–0 lead with 16 seconds left in the second quarter.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Conference Championships, Sunday, January 19, 2020, NFC: San Francisco 49ers 37, Green Bay Packers 20
Green Bay managed to cut the score to 27–7 on the opening drive of the second half, moving the ball 80 yards in 11 plays. Rogers completed 9/10 passes for 75 yards on the drive, the last a 9-yard touchdown throw to Aaron Jones. But the 49ers stormed right back, with a pair of runs by Samuel for gains of 11 and 32 yards aiding a seven-play, 79-yard drive that ended on Mostert's 22-yard touchdown run. This gave the 49ers a 34–7 lead with five minutes left in the third quarter.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Conference Championships, Sunday, January 19, 2020, NFC: San Francisco 49ers 37, Green Bay Packers 20
Green Bay responded by going 80 yards in 10 plays, including Rodgers' 4-yard pass to Allen Lazard on fourth-and-2, and a 42-yard completion from Rodgers to tight end Jimmy Graham. On the next play, Jones ran for a touchdown that made the score 34–13 after a failed two-point conversion attempt. Then after a punt, Rodgers completed a 65-yard pass to Davante Adams on the 49ers 22-yard line. Three plays later, his 8-yard touchdown pass to Jace Sternberger made the score 34–20 with just under six minutes left in the game.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Conference Championships, Sunday, January 19, 2020, NFC: San Francisco 49ers 37, Green Bay Packers 20
However, San Francisco crushed any hope of a comeback with their ensuing 10-play, 44-yard drive, starting with Garoppolo's 19-yard completion to George Kittle. Gould completed the scoring with a 42-yard field goal to put the 49ers up 37–20 with 3:36 to play, before Richard Sherman intercepted a pass from Rodgers that enabled San Francisco to run out the rest of the clock and earn the franchise's seventh trip to the Super Bowl.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Conference Championships, Sunday, January 19, 2020, NFC: San Francisco 49ers 37, Green Bay Packers 20
Mostert had 29 carries for 220 yards and four touchdowns, along with two receptions for 9 yards. Garoppolo set an NFC championship record for fewest pass attempts, completing 6/8 passes for 77 yards. Williams had seven solo tackles and a sack. Rodgers completed 31/39 passes for 326 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Adams had nine receptions for 138 yards.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Super Bowl LIV: Kansas City Chiefs 31, San Francisco 49ers 20
This was the first time the Chiefs and 49ers have faced each other in the Super Bowl. Their last regular season meeting ended in a Chiefs victory 38–27, on September 23, 2018 in Arrowhead Stadium. The 49ers lead the all-time series 7–6.


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Super Bowl LIV: Kansas City Chiefs 31, San Francisco 49ers 20
The teams traded a touchdown and a field goal in the first half, going into halftime tied 10–10. The 49ers took a 10-point lead in the third quarter. The Chiefs then went on to score 21 unanswered points in the final 7 minutes to win the Super Bowl 31–20. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has now been outscored 46–0 in the 4th quarters and overtime of the two Super Bowls he has been a part of (the other being Super Bowl LI with the Falcons).


2019–20 NFL playoffs, Television coverage
ESPN produced coverage of the Saturday afternoon Wild Card game for the sixth consecutive season, and ESPN simulcasted it on ABC for the fifth consecutive season. For the second straight season, NBC aired the late afternoon Sunday Wild Card game as a lead-in to its coverage of the Golden Globe Awards. CBS then televised one of the AFC Wild Card Games, and Fox had one of the NFC Wild Card games. Coverage of the NFC Divisional games were split between Fox and NBC. CBS had exclusive coverage of both AFC Divisional games and the AFC Championship Game. Fox had exclusive coverage of the NFC Championship Game and exclusive coverage the Super Bowl.


2019–20 NHL season
The 2019–20 NHL season was the 103rd season of operation (102nd season of play) of the National Hockey League. The regular season began on October 2, 2019, with playoffs originally planned for April and the Stanley Cup Finals planned for June. The season was suspended indefinitely on March 12, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2019–20 NHL season
On May 22, 2020, the NHL and National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) agreed to a framework for the resumption of play, which would see the remainder of the regular season scrapped, and the top 12 teams in each conference (by points percentage) competing in a modified and expanded Stanley Cup playoffs, which the NHL planned to hold in two centralized "hub cities", Toronto's Scotiabank Arena and Edmonton's Rogers Place, with no spectators and only essential staff present.


2019–20 NHL season
The playoffs began on August 1, 2020, and ended on September 28, with the Tampa Bay Lightning defeating the Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Finals in six games, winning their second Stanley Cup in franchise history.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Collective bargaining agreement
The collective bargaining agreement (CBA), previously signed to end the 2012–13 NHL lockout, entered into its eighth season. Before the season started, both the NHL and the NHLPA had the choice to opt out of the CBA on September 1 and September 16, 2019, respectively. If either of them had opted out, the CBA would have expired at the end of this season instead of at the end of 2021–22. The NHL announced on August 30 that they would not opt out, and the NHLPA then also agreed on September 16 not to opt out.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Salary cap
The salary cap is $81.5 million, as announced on June 22, 2019.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Seattle expansion team
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the christening of the Seattle Kraken was delayed to July 23, 2020. The expansion team, set to begin play during the 2021–22 season, originally planned to announce the club's name in early 2020.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Seattle expansion team
Ron Francis was hired as Seattle's first general manager on July 17, 2019.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Rule changes
The following rule changes were proposed June 19, 2019 and approved the next day:


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Rule changes
To put more emphasis on teams winning in regulation, regulation wins (tracked in an additional RW column in the league standings) will now precede regulation and overtime wins (ROW) in the tie-breaking procedure. The league also added goals scored as a new tiebreaker.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Player and puck tracking technology
After testing at the 2019 National Hockey League All-Star Game, the NHL planned to deploy player and puck tracking systems to all 31 NHL arenas prior to the start of the 2019–20 season. This technology was developed in collaboration with a German Fraunhofer Institute using transmitters embedded inside pucks and jerseys. It enables on-air features such as speed displays, puck tracking graphics (reminiscent of the FoxTrax graphics utilized in the late 1990s by previous U.S. national NHL broadcaster Fox, also developed by Sportvision), and marker graphics hovering above players.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Player and puck tracking technology
On September 5, 2019, it was reported that the league replaced its primary technology partner in its tracking technology, and thus the system likely would not be up and running until the 2020 playoffs at the earliest.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Media rights
This is the ninth season under the NHL's ten-year deal with NBC Sports and sixth season of its twelve-year Canadian rights deal with Sportsnet and TVA Sports.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Media rights
Both NBC Sports and Sportsnet celebrated International Women's Day on March 8, 2020, by featuring all-female broadcasting crews on their respective telecasts of St. Louis Blues–Chicago Blackhawks and Vegas Golden Knights–Calgary Flames.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Media rights
On January 2, 2019, the Chicago Blackhawks agreed to an exclusive multi-year deal with NBC Sports Chicago beginning with the 2019–20 season, ending the team's broadcasts on WGN-TV.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Media rights
Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios combined to purchase the former Fox Sports regional networks (FSN). Twelve of the NHL's 31 teams (Anaheim, Arizona, Carolina, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, Florida, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis, and Tampa Bay) carry their television broadcasts through FSN. FSN was one of the properties Fox Corporation's predecessor 21st Century Fox divested in its sale to The Walt Disney Company, but which The Walt Disney Company could not keep due to antitrust concerns.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Media rights
This is Entertainment Studios' first entry into sports, while Sinclair has had a sports operation since 2014 that currently distributes the free-to-air network Stadium and is concurrently expanding into the regional sports network business with its stakes in these networks, YES Network and the upcoming Chicago-based Marquee Sports Network. The FSN networks will continue to temporarily use the Fox Sports name under a transitional license agreement while Sinclair explores rebranding options.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Media rights
In August 2019, the Vegas Golden Knights agreed to a deal with Las Vegas broadcast television station KTNV-TV to locally televise all of the team's 2019 preseason games over-the-air.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Media rights
In September 2019, the New York Islanders agreed to a two-year deal with WEPN-AM and WEPN-FM to broadcast a majority of their games. Since the two stations also broadcast New York Rangers and the NBA's New York Knicks games, WRHU of Hofstra University will continue to be used by the Islanders as an overflow station.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Media rights
This is the final season of Sportsnet's regional rights to the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. In December 2019, after having aired the first-ever NHL broadcast in the language earlier in the year, it was announced that the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) would air six of Sportsnet's Hometown Hockey games per season in Plains Cree over the next three years.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Media rights
On November 11, 2019, Sportsnet fired studio commentator Don Cherry for comments that suggested Canadian immigrants benefit from the sacrifices of veterans but do not wear Remembrance Day poppies. The segment Coach's Corner on Hockey Night in Canada was canceled the following week.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Sports betting
As part of its renovations, the Philadelphia Flyers and Wells Fargo Center announced that Rivers Casino Philadelphia (then SugarHouse Casino) would become the venue's official sportsbook partner, with the venue adding two lounge areas with odds boards to promote the casino's sports betting app.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Draft
The 2019 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 21 and 22, 2019, with Jack Hughes being selected first overall by the New Jersey Devils.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, Preseason games in Europe
Two preseason games were played in Europe. The Chicago Blackhawks played against Eisbären Berlin at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Germany, on September 29, 2019. The Philadelphia Flyers played against Lausanne HC at Vaudoise Aréna in Lausanne, Switzerland on September 30, 2019.


2019–20 NHL season, League business, General Manager of the Year Award
On November 19, 2019, the NHL announced it would rename the General Manager of the Year Award in honour of Jim Gregory, the recently deceased former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and former NHL executive. The official name is changed to the "Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award."


2019–20 NHL season, Regular season
The regular season began on October 2, 2019, and was originally supposed to end on April 4, 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the season was suspended on March 12, 2020. On May 26, 2020, it was announced that the regular season would not be finished.


2019–20 NHL season, Regular season, International games
Three regular season games, branded as the NHL Global Series, were played in Europe. The Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers played their regular season opening game on October 4, 2019 at O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic. The Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning played two games at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden, on November 8 and 9, 2019.


2019–20 NHL season, Regular season, All-Star Game
The 2020 National Hockey League All-Star Game was held in St. Louis, Missouri, at the Enterprise Center, the home of the St. Louis Blues, on January 25, 2020.


2019–20 NHL season, Regular season, Postponed game
The St. Louis Blues – Anaheim Ducks game on February 11, 2020, was suspended at a 1−1 tie with 7:50 left in the first period after Blues defenceman Jay Bouwmeester collapsed on the bench in a medical emergency due to a cardiac episode. He eventually had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator procedure and was placed on injured reserve. The game was made up on March 11. This resulted in the Blues' home game against the Florida Panthers being moved one day earlier from March 10 to March 9.


2019–20 NHL season, Regular season, Suspension of the regular season due to COVID-19
As the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe, concern began to build that large crowds at sporting events would spread the virus that causes COVID-19. In early March 2020, the NHL suspended media access to the locker rooms, saying that only official personnel would be allowed in after the games to limit person-to-person contact. The San Jose Sharks were planning to play three home games without fans from March 19, following San Francisco's order prohibiting assemblies larger than 1,000 individuals. Meanwhile, the Columbus Blue Jackets had also proposed to play home games without fans, due to Ohio governor Mike DeWine banning mass gatherings in the state.


2019–20 NHL season, Regular season, Suspension of the regular season due to COVID-19
But after the National Basketball Association (NBA) suspended all games when Rudy Gobert and another player tested positive for COVID-19 on the day that the World Health Organization declared the disease to be a pandemic, the NHL scheduled a meeting to discuss pausing the season. On March 12, morning practice sessions and media access for all teams were cancelled. Shortly after, they announced that the 2019–20 season had been paused indefinitely. This became the biggest interruption to regular NHL season games since the 2012–13 NHL lockout. All players and hockey staff were asked to self-quarantine in their home cities until further notice.


2019–20 NHL season, Regular season, Suspension of the regular season due to COVID-19
One of the players from the Ottawa Senators had tested positive for COVID-19 on March 17. Four days later, on March 21, it was announced that a second Senators player tested positive for COVID-19. Two Colorado Avalanche players have also tested positive for the virus. On April 4, the originally intended date for the final games of the regular season, Commissioner Gary Bettman participated in a call with U.S. president Donald Trump and other sport commissioners on the state of the sport world.


2019–20 NHL season, Regular season, Return to play with modified playoff format
On May 22, the league and the NHLPA agreed on a basic framework to stage a 24-team playoff tournament behind closed doors. The details of the plan were announced publicly on May 26. The seeds would be based on each club's points percentage when the season paused on March 12 (effectively scrapping the remainder of the regular season and making this the first season in NHL history where some teams played more regular season games than others in a year that did not have a team fold during the regular season).


2019–20 NHL season, Regular season, Return to play with modified playoff format
The top four seeds in each conference would get a bye, while the next eight seeds in each conference would play in a best-of-five series. Many of the logistics still needed to be negotiated, including COVID-19 testing protocols, visas, and whether these games would be held in one or more "hub" cities as the Canada–United States border would remain closed to non-essential travel until June 21. That same day, the U.S. government announced that foreign athletes would be exempted from pandemic-related travel bans still in effect.


2019–20 NHL season, Regular season, Return to play with modified playoff format
On May 26, Bettman formally discussed aspects of the "Return to Play Plan", including the proposed 24-team playoff format (with the top four teams in each conference playing a round robin tournament under regular season overtime rules to determine their seeds), and modifications to the procedures for the Draft Lottery. Aspects of the format (including the possibility of a best-of-five format for the first and second round, and changes to bracketing) were still being negotiated, but it was stated that the conference finals and Stanley Cup Finals would still use a best-of-seven series. Bettman stated that at least two hub cities would be used for the playoffs, shortlisting hosts such as Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Edmonton, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Toronto and Vancouver. Health, testing, and security protocols would be in place at these sites.


2019–20 NHL season, Regular season, Return to play with modified playoff format
On June 4, it was announced that the NHL and NHLPA had approved aspects of the format that had not yet been finalized during the May 26 briefing, with the first and second rounds proper using a best-of-seven format as usual, and all teams being reseeded after each round (to account for the lack of home advantage due to all games being played at a neutral site).


2019–20 NHL season, Regular season, Return to play with modified playoff format
It was reported that the NHL planned to have one American host and one Canadian host. As Canada's Quarantine Act at the time required all travellers entering the country to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly stated that this may impact the ability to use Canadian host cities unless these issues can be addressed.


2019–20 NHL season, Regular season, Return to play with modified playoff format
On June 10, British Columbia Premier John Horgan stated that the province's medical officer Bonnie Henry had endorsed proposed protocols developed by the Vancouver Canucks in collaboration with local officials, and that they were being sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for federal approval. These included allowing the NHL to "cohort" players and restrict their access to the general public.


2019–20 NHL season, Regular season, Return to play with modified playoff format
Phase 2 of the "Return to Play Plan" began on June 8. Players were allowed to resume use of team practice facilities in small groups (no more than six), with only players allowed on-ice and no other agents or press admitted. Players had to self-isolate for 14 days if they used public transport, and were regularly monitored and tested for COVID-19. If a player tests positive, they could not attend training until they had been cleared, with teams suggested to use guidelines issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Training camps (phase 3) were planned to reopen on July 10. Amidst an intense growth of new cases in Florida, the Tampa Bay Lightning temporarily closed their training facility on June 19 after several staff members and three players tested positive for COVID-19.


2019–20 NHL season, Regular season, Return to play with modified playoff format
On June 24, Sportsnet reported that Vancouver's bid had been complicated by disagreements over protocols for positive cases. The next day, Global BC's Richard Zussman reported that the NHL had "moved on [for now]" from Vancouver, and was increasing its focus on Edmonton and Toronto as potential sites. While Las Vegas was initially considered a front-runner, a spike of cases in Nevada and other U.S. states led to reports on July 1 that the NHL had decided on Edmonton and Toronto as the sites.


2019–20 NHL season, Regular season, Return to play with modified playoff format
On July 10, the NHL confirmed that it had ratified agreements with the NHLPA to begin the playoffs on August 1 (concluding no later than early October), with games being hosted by Edmonton (Western Conference early rounds, Conference Finals, and Stanley Cup Finals) and Toronto (Eastern Conference early rounds). The league also renewed its collective bargaining agreement (CBA)  for four additional seasons, which includes an increase to minimum player salaries and a 10% deference of player salaries for the 2020–21 season (to be paid out over three seasons beginning 2022–23).


2019–20 NHL season, Playoffs, Bracket
In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference is matched against the lowest remaining seed. The higher-seeded team is awarded home ice advantage. In the Stanley Cup Finals, home ice was determined based on regular season points percentage. Each best-of-five series followed a 2–2–1 format: the higher-seeded team was the designated as the host for games one and two (and game five, if necessary), and the lower-seeded team was the host for games three (and game four, if necessary).


2019–20 NHL season, Playoffs, Bracket
Each best-of-seven series followed a 2–2–1–1–1 format: the higher-seeded team was the host for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the lower-seeded team was the host for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). In the First Round, the top four teams in each conference were seeded one through four based on their final standings from the Round-robin. The teams that advanced from the Qualifying Round were re-seeded five through eight based on their regular season points percentage.


2019–20 NHL season, Statistics, Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in regular season points at the completion of the regular season.


2019–20 NHL season, Statistics, Leading goaltenders
The following goaltenders led the league in regular season goals against average at the conclusion of games played on March 11, 2020, while playing at least 1,740 minutes.


2019–20 NHL season, NHL awards
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NHL will not hold an annual awards ceremony for this season. Instead, the individual awards will be handed out during the final two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Voting concluded immediately after the end of the regular season. Statistics-based awards such as the Art Ross Trophy, Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, William M. Jennings Trophy and the Presidents' Trophy are announced at the end of the regular season. The Prince of Wales Trophy and the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl are presented at the end of the Eastern and Western Conference Finals respectively. The Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy are presented at the end of the Stanley Cup Finals. The Lester Patrick Trophy is announced following the conclusion of the playoffs and presented in the fall.


2019–20 NHL season, Milestones, First games
The following is a list of notable players who played their first NHL game during the 2019–20 season, listed with their first team.


2019–20 NHL suspensions and fines
The following is a list of all suspensions and fines enforced in the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 2019–20 NHL season. It lists which players or coaches of what team have been punished for which offense and the amount of punishment they have received.


2019–20 NHL suspensions and fines
Based on each player's average annual salary, divided by number of days in the season (186) for non-repeat offenders and games (82) for repeat offenders, salary will be forfeited for the term of their suspension. Players' money forfeited due to suspension or fine goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund, while money forfeited by coaches, staff or organizations as a whole go to the NHL Foundation.


2019–20 NHL suspensions and fines, Suspensions
† - suspension covered at least one 2019 NHL preseason game‡ - suspension covered at least one 2020 postseason game# - suspension was later reduced upon further review/successful appeal; information presented in italics R  - Player was considered a repeat offender under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (player had been suspended in the 18 months prior to this suspension)


2019–20 NHL suspensions and fines, Fines
Players can be fined up to 50% of one day's salary, up to a maximum of $10,000.00 for their first offense, and $15,000.00 for any subsequent offenses (player had been fined in the 12 months prior to this fine). Coaches, non-playing personnel, and teams are not restricted to such maximums, though can still be treated as repeat offenders.


2019–20 NHL suspensions and fines, Fines
Fines for players/coaches fined for diving/embellishment are structured uniquely and are only handed out after non-publicized warnings are given to the player/coach for their first offense. For more details on diving/embellishment fines:


2019–20 NHL suspensions and fines, Fines
Fines listed in italics indicate that was the maximum allowed fine.


2019–20 NHL transactions
The following is a list of all team-to-team transactions that have occurred in the National Hockey League (NHL) during the 2019–20 NHL season. It lists which team each player has been traded to, signed by, or claimed by, and for which player(s) or draft pick(s), if applicable. Players who have retired or released are also listed.


2019–20 NHL transactions
The 2019–20 NHL trade deadline was on February 24, 2020. Players traded or claimed off waivers after this date were not eligible to play in the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.


2019–20 NHL transactions, Contract terminations
A team and player may mutually agree to terminate a player's contract at any time. All players must clear waivers before having a contract terminated.


2019–20 NHL transactions, Contract terminations
Buyouts can only occur at specific times of the year. For more details on contract terminations as buyouts:


2019–20 NHL transactions, Contract terminations
Teams may buy out player contracts (after the conclusion of a season) for a portion of the remaining value of the contract, paid over a period of twice the remaining length of the contract. This reduced number and extended period is applied to the cap hit as well.


2019–20 NHL transactions, Free agency
Note: This does not include players who have re-signed with their previous team as an unrestricted free agent or as a restricted free agent.


2019–20 NHL transactions, Free agency, Offer sheets
An offer sheet is a contract offered to a restricted free agent by a team other than the one for which his rights are owned by. If the player signs the offer sheet, his current team has seven days to match the contract offer and keep the player or else he goes to the team that gave the offer sheet, with compensation going to his first team.


2019–20 NHL transactions, Free agency, Imports
This section is for players who were not previously on contract with NHL teams in the past season. Listed is the last team and league they were under contract with.


2019–20 NHL transactions, Trades
* Retained Salary Transaction: Each team is allowed up to three contracts on their payroll where they have retained salary in a trade (i.e. the player no longer plays with Team A due to a trade to Team B, but Team A still retains some salary). Only up to 50% of a player's contract can be kept, and only up to 15% of a team's salary cap can be taken up by retained salary. A contract can only be involved in one of these trades twice.


2019–20 NHL transactions, Trades
Hover over retained salary or conditional transactions for more information.


2019–20 NHL transactions, Waivers
Once an NHL player has played in a certain number of games or a set number of seasons has passed since the signing of his first NHL contract (see here), that player must be offered to all of the other NHL teams before he can be assigned to a minor league affiliate.


2019–20 NIFL Championship
The 2019–20 NIFL Championship was the fourth season of the NIFL Championship since gaining senior status. It is the second-tier of the Northern Ireland Football League - the national football league in Northern Ireland. The season began on 3 August 2019 and was originally scheduled to conclude in April 2020, However, the season was suspended on 13 March 2020 as a result of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. No further fixtures were played, with the final games held on 10 March 2020 and the season being officially curtailed in June 2020.


2019–20 NIFL Championship
Larne were the current champions. However, due to their promotion to the 2019–20 NIFL Premiership, they were unable to defend their title.


2019–20 NIFL Championship
The Irish FA initially suspended all football-related activity in Northern Ireland until 4 April, with this suspension subsequently being extended first until 30 April, and then until 31 May. In June 2020, NIFL announced that the season was over, and that average points per game would be used to determine the final league standings. Portadown were declared champions, gaining promotion to the 2020–21 NIFL Premiership, while PSNI suffered relegation to the NIFL Premier Intermediate League. The promotion/relegation play-offs were cancelled, meaning 11th-placed Knockbreda were reprieved from relegation, and runners-up Ballinamallard United missed out on the chance of promotion.


2019–20 NIFL Championship, Teams
The 2019–20 NIFL Championship is being contested by 12 teams, nine of which retained their Championship status from the previous season. Larne were champions in the previous season, and were promoted to the 2019–20 NIFL Premiership. They were replaced by the bottom team in last season's Premiership, Newry City. Runners-up Carrick Rangers won 3–1 on aggregate in the promotion play-off against Ards, also achieving promotion to the Premiership for this season and relegating Ards to the Championship.


2019–20 NIFL Championship, Teams
The bottom team from the previous season, Limavady United, were relegated to the third-tier NIFL Premier Intermediate League. They were replaced by Queen's University, winners of the Premier Intermediate League. The eleventh-placed team from the previous season, PSNI, remained in the Championship this season, after defeating the NIFL Premier Intermediate League runners-up Annagh United 5–3 on aggregate in the relegation play-off.


2019–20 NIFL Championship, Results, Matches 1–22
During matches 1–22 each team played every other team twice (home and away).


2019–20 NIFL Championship, Results, Matches 23–33
During matches 23–33 each team was scheduled to play every other team for the third time (either at home, or away). However, some fixtures did not take place, after the league season was curtailed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.


2019–20 NIFL Premiership
The 2019–20 NIFL Premiership (known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship reasons) was the 12th season of Northern Ireland's highest national football league in this format since its inception in 2008, the 119th season of Irish league football overall, and the seventh season that the league operated as part of the Northern Ireland Football League. The fixtures were released on 26 June 2019. The season began on 9 August 2019 and was initially scheduled to conclude on 25 April 2020, with the promotion/relegation play-off scheduled to take place in the first week of May 2020.


2019–20 NIFL Premiership
However, the season was suspended on 13 March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Northern Ireland, with the clubs having only played 31 of the 38 rounds of fixtures. The season did not resume after the suspension, with the final games having been played on 7 March 2020.


2019–20 NIFL Premiership
The Irish FA initially suspended all football-related activity in Northern Ireland until 4 April, with this suspension subsequently being extended first until 30 April, and then until 31 May. On 9 June, NIFL gave clubs the opportunity to vote on two options to conclude the remainder of the season, both of which were rejected by a majority of clubs. The first option was playing two more rounds of fixtures behind closed doors and curtailing the league season after 33 games. This would have meant that every club had played every other club three times.


2019–20 NIFL Premiership
The second option was to curtail the season immediately, and use a mathematical formula chosen by an independent panel to calculate the final standings. On 23 June 2020, after talks between the clubs had failed to find a consensus on an alternative option, NIFL announced that the season was over, and that a mathematical formula would be used to determine the final league standings.


2019–20 NIFL Premiership
Linfield were the defending champions, having lifted the league title for a record 53rd time the previous season. They successfully defended the title to win a record 54th league championship, after NIFL announced that the final league standings would be decided by a points per game average. Every team had played 31 games, so the application of points per game was academic, and there were no changes to the standings. This meant that Linfield equalled the world record for the most league titles won by any club, a record now shared with Scottish club Rangers.


2019–20 NIFL Premiership
The promotion/relegation play-off was cancelled, meaning 11th-placed Warrenpoint Town were reprieved. However, automatic relegation still took place, meaning Institute faced the drop back into the NIFL Championship. On 29 June 2020, the club lodged an appeal with the Irish FA against their relegation. However, the appeal was rejected by the IFA, and the club decided not to pursue the matter any further.


2019–20 NIFL Premiership
Linfield qualified for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League preliminary round, while runners-up Coleraine and 2019–20 Irish Cup winners Glentoran qualified for the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League preliminary round.


2019–20 NIFL Premiership, Teams
Twelve teams competed in the 2019–20 NIFL Premiership, ten of which had retained their Premiership status from the previous season. The previous season's bottom Premiership club, Newry City, were relegated to the 2019–20 NIFL Championship after only one season in the top flight, and were replaced by Larne, who were promoted to the Premiership as 2018–19 NIFL Championship winners. This marked a return to the top flight for the first time in 11 years for Larne, after they were relegated at the end of the 2007–08 season when they did not apply for a place in the Premiership for the 2008–09 season.


2019–20 NIFL Premiership, Teams
The previous season's 11th-placed Premiership team, Ards, faced 2018–19 NIFL Championship runners-up, Carrick Rangers, in a two-legged promotion/relegation play-off. Carrick Rangers won the tie 3–1 on aggregate to secure promotion to this season's Premiership, with Ards relegated to replace them in the Championship. This brought an end to Ards' three-season stay in the top flight, and meant an immediate return to the Premiership for Carrick Rangers after only one season in the Championship.


2019–20 NIFL Premiership, Results, Matches 1–22
During matches 1–22 each team will play every other team twice (home and away).


2019–20 NIFL Premiership, Results, Matches 23–31
During matches 23–33 each team was scheduled to play every other team for the third time (either at home, or away). However, two rounds of fixtures did not take place, after the league season was curtailed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.


2019–20 NIFL Premiership, NIFL Premiership play-off
The eleventh-placed Premiership team usually played the Championship runners-up over two legs for one spot in the following season's NIFL Premiership, with the Premiership team given home advantage for the second leg. However, the play-off was cancelled when the league was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2019–20 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team
The 2019–20 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team represented the New Jersey Institute of Technology in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Highlanders, led by fourth-year head coach Brian Kennedy, played their home games at the Wellness and Events Center in Newark, New Jersey as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. They finished the season 9–21, 6–10 in ASUN play to finish in eighth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the ASUN Tournament to Liberty.


2019–20 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team
This was the final season the Highlanders were a member of the ASUN. On June 14, 2020, it was announced that on they would become a full member of the America East Conference beginning July 1, 2020.


2019–20 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team, Previous season
The Highlanders finished the 2018–19 season 22–13 overall, 8–8 in ASUN play to finish in fifth place. In the ASUN Tournament, they defeated Florida Gulf Coast in the quarterfinals, before losing to Lipscomb in the semifinals. They received an invitation to the CIT, where they defeated Quinnipiac in the first round, before losing to Hampton in the quarterfinals.


2019–20 NK Istra 1961 season
The 2019–20 NK Istra 1961 season was the club's 59th season in existence and the 11th consecutive season in the top flight of Croatian football.


2019–20 NK Istra 1961 season, First-team squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2019–20 NL season
The 2019–20 National League season was the 82nd season of Swiss professional ice hockey and the third season as the National League (NL).


2019–20 NL season
ZSC Lions won the regular season, defeating EV Zug in the final round of matches.


2019–20 NL season
SC Bern were the defending champions and three-time defending regular season winners, however for the second consecutive year the defending champion failed to make the playoffs.


2019–20 NL season
Due to the 2018–19 league qualification series not being contested, the participating teams remained the same as the previous season.


2019–20 NL season
The season was affected by the 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Switzerland, with the final two rounds of regular season games taking place without crowds, and the start of the playoffs postponed. On March 12, the National League committee announced that the playoffs would be cancelled, due to the ban on sporting events in the canton of Ticino.


2019–20 NL season, Player statistics, Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of the regular season. If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.


2019–20 NL season, Player statistics, Leading goaltenders
The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of the regular season.


2019–20 NL season, Venues
This is Lausanne HC's first season in the Vaudoise Aréna, replacing Patinoire de Malley where they played from 1984 to 2017 and two seasons from 2017 to 2019 in the temporary 6,700-seat Malley 2.0. The team played its first regular-season game in the new venue on September 24, 2019, against Genève-Servette HC.


2019–20 NL season, Venues
This is HC Fribourg-Gottéron's final season in the under-renovation BCF Arena. Starting with the 2020–21 season, the arena will have been completely renovated and the seating capacity will have shifted from 6,500 to 8,500.


2019–20 NTFL season
The 2019/20 NTFL season was the 99th season of the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL).


2019–20 NTFL season
The first game was played on Saturday, 5 October, and the Grand Final was played on Saturday, 14 March, with the Nightcliff Tigers winning the match by 13 points against St Marys, claiming their fifth premiership title in history. This was the first time in the club's history going back to back in titles.


2019–20 NWHL season
The 2019–20 NWHL season was the fifth season of the National Women's Hockey League. All five teams from the previous season returned: the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, and the Minnesota Whitecaps.


2019–20 NWHL season
The NWHL completed the semifinal round of the 2020 Isobel Cup playoffs, but had to postpone the championship game between Boston and Minnesota originally scheduled for March 13, 2020, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On May 15, the final was cancelled and the Isobel Cup was not awarded.


2019–20 NWHL season, League changes, 2019 offseason events
Following the 2018–19 season, the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) ceased operations citing the fragmentation of corporate sponsors between the CWHL and NWHL caused their league to be financially infeasible. The NWHL then announced it was pursuing adding two CWHL markets to the league, Montreal and Toronto, if the NWHL found financial backers for the teams.


2019–20 NWHL season, League changes, 2019 offseason events
On May 2, 2019, over 200 players from both the CWHL and NWHL released a joint statement announcing their intent to not participate in any North American professional league for the 2019–20 season citing their dissatisfaction in the operations of both leagues in that neither provided health insurance or a livable salary. The NWHL responded with that they were pursuing many more sponsors than in previous years and hoped to increase player salaries. and agreed to give players a 50 percent split of revenue on league sponsorship and media deals.


2019–20 NWHL season, League changes, 2019 offseason events
On May 20, 2019, the players formed a worker's union called the Professional Women's Hockey Player Association (PWHPA) to further push for their stated goals of a league that provides financial and infrastructure resources to players, health insurance, and support to training programs for young female players. With a large number of North American players boycotting the league, more than half of the signed players on opening rosters were new to the league.


2019–20 NWHL season, League changes, 2019 offseason events
On May 8, 2019, Pegula Sports and Entertainment (PSE), the owners of the Buffalo Beauts, relinquished ownership and operations of the team back to the NWHL, but continued to claim rights to the Beauts name as part of the turnover. The Beauts then changed their home venue from the PSE-owned Harborcenter to the Northtown Center in the Buffalo suburb of Amherst.


2019–20 NWHL season, League changes, 2019 offseason events
On May 17, 2019, the New Jersey Devils ended their partnership with the Metropolitan Riveters. The Riveters then changed their home venue from the Devils' practice rink to ProSkate Ice Arena in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, and returned to their original jersey colors.


2019–20 NWHL season, League changes, 2019 offseason events
With the player strike, loss of support from the NHL teams, and lack of additional investors, the NWHL announced they would not be able to increase to full-time salaries or provide players with health insurance outside of the typical worker's compensation for injuries, but had come to an agreement to a 50 percent revenue split on all league-wide sponsorship and media deals. In addition, the league also stated they would not add Montreal and Toronto for the 2019–20 season. The league announced a longer 2019–20 season for the teams, going from 16 to 24 games.


2019–20 NWHL season, League changes, 2019 offseason events
Also during the offseason, the Connecticut Whale relocated to Danbury, Connecticut, and the Boston Pride were purchased by a group of investors led by Miles Arnone.


2019–20 NWHL season, All-Star Game
The 2020 NWHL All-Star Game and its weekend festivities took place on February 8–9, 2020, at Warrior Ice Arena, the Boston Pride's home arena. The teams were captained by Jillian Dempsey of the Boston Pride and Madison Packer of the Metropolitan Riveters, who drafted their rosters from the selected all-star players in a draft.


2019–20 NWHL season, All-Star Game
The skills challenge took place on February 8. Team Packer won the fastest skater (Grace Kleinbach of Connecticut) and hardest shot (Kaleigh Fratkin of Boston), while Team Dempsey won fastest goalie (Mariah Fujimagari of Buffalo), shooting accuracy (Jillian Dempsey), and the team relay. Team Packer ultimately won the skills competition via the team shootout competition. On February 11, the league awarded fastest skater to Team Dempsey's Allie Thunstrom of the Minnesota Whitecaps following a review and a timing error.


2019–20 NWHL season, All-Star Game
The All-Star Game took place the following day on February 9. The game was a four-on-four format with Team Dempsey winning 5–2. The game was sold out in the 800-seat arena and had about 10,000 viewers watching the game live on Twitch.


2019–20 NZ Touring Cars Championship
The 2019–20 NZ Touring Cars Championship  (known for commercial reasons as the 2019–20 BNT V8s Championship) will be the twenty-first season of the series, and the fifth under the NZ Touring Cars name. The field consists of two classes racing on the same grid. Class one featured both V8ST and NZV8 TLX cars. Class two consisted of older NZV8 TL cars. There is also a third class run for vehicles ineligible for points. The series' defending champions are Jack Smith for Class One, and Justin Ashwell for the V8 Lites class (renamed from Class Two).


2019–20 NZ Touring Cars Championship, Teams and drivers, Driver changes
Andre Heimgartner will return to the series to drive with Hamilton Motorsports. Chelsea Herbert was originally slated to drive with the team, but withdrew after announcing her plans to compete in the Toyota Racing Series.


2019–20 NZ Touring Cars Championship, Calendar
The calendar was announced on April 30, 2019. The calendar was later revised, removing the South Island rounds citing issues surrounding cost.


2019–20 Naisten Liiga season
The 2019–20 Naisten Liiga season was the thirty-seventh season of the Naisten Liiga, the premier level of women's ice hockey in Finland, since the league’s establishment in 1982.


2019–20 Naisten Liiga season
The postseason was cancelled by the Finnish Ice Hockey Association on 12 March 2020 in response to public health concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 Aurora Borealis Cup Final between Kiekko-Espoo and KalPa was scheduled to begin on 14 March 2020. With the cancellation of the remainder of the season, the 2019–2020 season became the first and only Naisten Liiga season to date in which the Finnish Championship was not awarded.


2019–20 Naisten Liiga season, League changes, Season format
The season format designated for the 2019–20 season was a modified version of the format established for the 2018–19 season. While the opening series remained unchanged, the divisional series was expanded to six teams in each division. In order to fill the two empty slots of the Lower Division, two teams from the Naisten Mestis were added to the Liiga for the divisional series and onward. The playoff format was modified to account for the increased number of teams; eight teams would qualify for the playoffs rather than the previous six. This change allowed for a traditional single-elimination tournament to be played from the quarterfinal stage rather than having the top two teams automatically progress to the semifinal round.


2019–20 Naisten Liiga season, League changes, Season format
The preliminary series (Finnish: Alkusarja) is played as a double round-robin plus a two-game Opening Weekend Tournament; each of the ten teams plays a total of twenty matches. Points are awarded by match outcome, regulation wins earn three points, overtime wins earn 2 points, overtime losses earn 1 point, and no points are awarded for regulation losses. The points earned in the opening series determine which division a team will be sorted for the continuation of the season.


2019–20 Naisten Liiga season, League changes, Season format
In the divisional series, the teams are grouped into two divisions of six teams. Each division is played as a double round-robin, each team plays a total of ten games. The top six ranked teams in the preliminary series qualify for the Upper Division (Finnish: Ylempi jatkosarja). Upper Division teams are guaranteed placement in the playoffs; the points earned in the ten divisional series games are added to the points totals from the preliminary series and used to establish the teams' playoff berths, from first to sixth.


2019–20 Naisten Liiga season, League changes, Season format
The bottom four teams in the opening series move on to the Lower Division (Finnish: Alempi jatkosarja), where they are joined by the top two teams from the Cross-Qualifiers (Finnish: Ristiinkarsinta) of the Naisten Mestis, the league directly below Naisten Liiga. The Lower Division teams compete for the seventh and eighth seed positions in the playoffs; only the top two ranked teams from the Lower Division earn places in the playoffs. Unlike the in Upper Division, all Lower Division teams start the divisional series with zero points, only points earned in the series are considered when the teams are ranked.


2019–20 Naisten Liiga season, League changes, Season format
The Lower Division teams ranked third through sixth continue on to the qualifying series (Finnish: Karsintasarja). The points earned in the six qualifying series games are added to the points totals from the Lower Division divisional series. The two teams with the highest point totals qualify for the 2020–21 Naisten Liiga season, the two lower ranked teams are relegated to the Naisten Mestis for the following season.


2019–20 Naisten Liiga season, Teams
Teams promoted from the Naisten Mestis to the Lower Division


2019–20 Naisten Liiga season, Regular season, Preliminaries
Series was played from 7 September to 24 November 2019. Top six teams advanced to the Upper Division (Finnish: Ylempi jatkosarja), while teams ranking sixth through tenth progressed to the Lower Division (Finnish: Alempi jatkosarja).


2019–20 Naisten Liiga season, Statistics, Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in points at the conclusion of the preliminary series on 24 November 2019.


2019–20 Naisten Liiga season, Statistics, Scoring leaders
The following players led the Upper Division in regular season points at the conclusion of the series on 2 February 2020.


2019–20 Naisten Liiga season, Statistics, Scoring leaders
The following players led the Lower Division in regular season points at the conclusion of the series on 2 February 2020.


2019–20 Naisten Liiga season, Statistics, Leading goaltenders
The following goaltenders led the league in save percentage at the conclusion of the preliminary series on 24 November 2019, while starting at least one third of matches.


2019–20 Naisten Liiga season, Statistics, Leading goaltenders
The following goaltenders led the Upper Division in regular season save percentage at the conclusion of match(es) on 29 January 2020, while starting at least one third of matches.


2019–20 Naisten Liiga season, Statistics, Leading goaltenders
The following goaltenders led the Lower Division in regular season save percentage at the conclusion the series on 2 February 2020, while starting at least one third of matches.


2019–20 Nashville Predators season
The 2019–20 Nashville Predators season was the 22nd season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on June 25, 1997. They entered the season as the two-time defending Central Division champions.


2019–20 Nashville Predators season
The season was suspended by the league officials on March 12, 2020, after several other professional and collegiate sports organizations followed suit as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On May 26, the NHL regular season was officially declared over with the remaining games being cancelled. The Predators advanced to the playoffs, but were defeated in four games by the Arizona Coyotes in the qualifying round.


2019–20 Nashville Predators season, Schedule and results, Regular season
The regular season schedule was published on June 25, 2019.


2019–20 Nashville Predators season, Schedule and results, Regular season
Legend:  Win (2 points)  Loss (0 points)  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)


2019–20 Nashville Predators season, Schedule and results, Playoffs
The Predators lost to the Arizona Coyotes in four games in the qualifying round.


2019–20 Nashville Predators season, Player statistics, Goaltenders
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Predators. Stats reflect time with the Predators only. ‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Predators only. Bold/italics denotes franchise record.


2019–20 Nashville Predators season, Draft picks
Below are the Nashville Predators' selections at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, which will be held on June 21 and 22, 2019, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.


2019–20 National Basketball League (Bulgaria) season
The 2019–20 National Basketball League (Bulgaria) season was the 79th season of the Bulgarian top basketball league.


2019–20 National Basketball League (Bulgaria) season
On 13 March 2020, the Bulgarian government halted the league until 13 April 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On 16 April 2020, after a month of suspension, the Bulgarian Basketball Federation officially ended the 2019–20 season, after video conference vote of board of directors. Balkan ended the season first, with eighteen wins, but the title was not assigned.


2019–20 National Basketball League (Bulgaria) season, Teams
Chernomorets from the second league joined the same nine teams from the previous season.


2019–20 National Basketball League (Bulgaria) season, Regular season
In the regular season, teams played against each other three times home-and-away in a double round-robin format. The eight first qualified teams advance to the playoffs.


2019–20 National Basketball League (Bulgaria) season, Regular season, League table
The season was finished after 19 played games for each team.


2019–20 National Basketball League (Czech Republic) season
The 2019–20 National Basketball League (Czech Republic) season was the 27th season of the Czech NBL. ERA Nymburk achieved their 17th consecutive title after the league ended prematurely on 18 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


2019–20 National Basketball League (Czech Republic) season, Format
Teams in regular season play home and away against every other team in a round-robin tournament, before being split into two groups of six teams for playing again home and away against the teams from the same group.


2019–20 National Basketball League (Czech Republic) season, Format
After the end of the stage after the first split, the six teams from to top group and the two first qualified teams from the bottom group joined the play-offs.


2019–20 National Basketball League (Czech Republic) season, Format
The other four teams would play again home and away against themselves for avoiding the relegation.


2019–20 National Basketball League (England) season
The 2019–20 season of the English Men's National Basketball League,  known as the NBL, was the 48th edition of the league. Solent Kestrels were league champions for the second consecutive year.


2019–20 National Basketball League (England) season
Following the 2018–19 season, the league structure was reorganised. Division 2 was regionalised into North and South regions, while Divisions 3 and 4 were merged to form 5 regional leagues.


2019–20 National Basketball League (England) season
In March 2020, the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The league season finished immediately and there were no end-of-season playoffs.


2019–20 National Basketball League (England) season, National Cup, Semi-finals
The draw for the semi-finals took place on 18 December 2019.


2019–20 National Cricket League
The 2019–20 National Cricket League was the twenty-first edition of the National Cricket League (NCL), a first-class cricket competition that was held in Bangladesh. The tournament started on 10 October 2019, with eight teams placed into two tiers. The matches were used as the national team's preparation for their Test series against India in November 2019. Rajshahi Division were the defending champions.


2019–20 National Cricket League
On 5 November 2019, Abdur Razzak took his 600th first-class wicket, becoming the first Bangladeshi bowler to reach the milestone. On 18 November 2019, Shahadat Hossain of Dhaka Division was withdrawn mid-way through the match with Khulna Division, after he physically assaulted teammate Arafat Sunny. Shahadat initially faced a ban from cricket of up to one year. However, he was given a five-year ban, with two years suspended for the incident.


2019–20 National Cricket League
Khulna Division won the tournament, beating Dhaka Division by nine wickets in the final round of matches. It was their seventh win, a record for victories in the NCL. In Tier 2, Sylhet Division secured promotion to Tier 1, after beating Chittagong Division, also by the margin of nine wickets. Defending champions, Rajshahi Division, finished bottom of Tier 1 and were relegated to Tier 2.


2019–20 National First Division
The 2019–20 National First Division (called the GladAfrica Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the season from August 2019 to May 2020 of South Africa's second tier of professional soccer, the National First Division.


2019–20 National First Division
For this season, the National First Division received new sponsorship from GladAfrica, with prize money being substantially increased to R3 million for the winners, R1.5 million for the runners up and R1 million for the third-placed team.


2019–20 National First Division, Play-offs
Black Leopards defeated Ajax Cape Town 2-0 to retain their place in PSL.


2019–20 National Independent Soccer Association season
The 2019–20 NISA season was the inaugural season of the National Independent Soccer Association's third-division soccer competition. The regular season was split into two halves, fall and spring, with playoffs at the end. The fall season, named "NISA Showcase", featured seven teams, with the East and West champions earning berths into the 2020 playoffs. The spring season featured eight teams, and switches to a single table format, the top 3 teams joining California United Strikers in the playoffs.


2019–20 National Independent Soccer Association season
The spring season was suspended on March 12, for 30 days, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The suspension was then extended in accordance with CDC guidelines and eventually made permanent on April 27, 2020.


2019–20 National Independent Soccer Association season, Fall season
Miami FC and California United Strikers FC played seven matches while the rest of the league played only six. To accommodate for this, the Miami FC home match against Oakland Roots SC did not count in the standings for Miami and the second California United Strikers FC home match against San Diego 1904 FC did not count in the standings for Cal United.


2019–20 National Independent Soccer Association season, Fall season, Playoffs
The top two eastern teams will meet in the East Coast Championship while the top two western teams will meet in the West Coast Championship. Each champion will earn an automatic berth into the Spring 2020 playoffs.


2019–20 National Independent Soccer Association season, Spring season
The 2020 Spring season began on February 28 and featured eight teams (five teams that also played in the Fall season, plus three new entries). It consisted of a single table instead of the conferences used during Fall. The top three teams would have qualified for the Playoffs, together with California United Strikers, already qualified because of their Fall season West Championship win.


2019–20 National Independent Soccer Association season, Spring season
The spring season was suspended on March 12, for 30 days, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The suspension was then extended in accordance with CDC guidelines and eventually made permanent on April 27, 2020.


2019–20 National League
The 2019–20 National League season, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, was the fifth season under English football's new title of National League, the sixteenth season consisting of three divisions, and the forty-first season overall.


2019–20 National League
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National League season was initially suspended on 16 March 2020 until at least 3 April. On 31 March, this suspension was extended indefinitely until further notice. On 22 April, clubs voted to end the season, with promotions and relegations still "under careful consideration".


2019–20 National League
Due to the knock-on effects of Bury F.C. 's expulsion from EFL League One at the start of the season, it had already been assumed prior to the pandemic that no more than one club instead of the usual two was to be relegated from the English Football League, and that no more than three clubs instead of the usual four were to be relegated from the National division. The cumulative effect that the early termination of the season and Bury's expulsion from the EFL will have on the composition of the National League's three divisions would have been determined.


2019–20 National League
On 17 June 2020, Barrow along with Wealdstone and King's Lynn Town were elected champions of their respective divisions after National League clubs voted to decide the final tables on a points-per-game basis. Barrow were therefore promoted to League Two, with Wealdstone and King's Lynn Town promoted to the National League. AFC Fylde considered mounting a legal challenge with support from Ebbsfleet United against their relegations, but ultimately decided against it.


2019–20 National League
Promotion play-offs were held in all three divisions to decide the additional promotion places. The semi-finals took place over the final two weekends of July, and the finals took place on 1 and 2 August. Clubs were expected to conduct and fund a COVID-19 prevention and testing process, and were allowed to decline their place in the competition without penalty if they were unable to fulfil this requirement. On 1 July, the Premier League committed £200,000 to the National League to help fund the conclusion of their season.


2019–20 National League, National League, Monthly awards
Each month the Motorama National League announces their official Player of the Month and Manager of the Month.


2019–20 National League, National League North, Monthly Awards
Each month the Motorama National League announces their official Player of the Month and Manager of the Month.


2019–20 National League 1
The 2019–20 National League 1, known for sponsorship reasons as the SSE National League 1, was the 11th season of the third tier of the English rugby union system, since the professionalised format of the second tier RFU Championship was introduced; and was the 33rd season since league rugby began in 1987.


2019–20 National League 1
Newly promoted Canterbury were the first team to be relegated after losing away to league leaders Richmond on 29 February, with six games still to play. Hull Ionians, also newly promoted, were the second team to be relegated after losing their rescheduled match at home to Blackheath on 14 March - Ionians having six games still to play.


2019–20 National League 1
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom the Rugby Football Union officially cancelled the season after an initially suspension of all rugby in England including training, from which was scheduled to last until 14 April 2020. After the cancellation was announced the RFU used a best playing record formula to decide the final table.


2019–20 National League 1
This meant that Richmond, who had been 7 points clear when the league had been suspended, were crowned as champions, beating off stiff opposition from Rosslyn Park (who beat Richmond home and away) and newly promoted Rams, who had a fantastic debut season in the third tier. Richmond's title was their third at level 3, and tied them with Coventry and Otley as the clubs that had the most league titles. It also was the fourth time Richmond had been promoted from tier 3 - a divisional record.


2019–20 National League 1
With two relegation spots already decided, it was tough luck for Rotherham Titans who were designated as the third team to go down, despite a late surge which had seen them gaining ground on 13th placed Birmingham Moseley. It was also a great fall for a side that were once playing in the Premiership and the lowest level for the club since the mid 1990s. Richmond would return to the 2020–21 RFU Championship after one season away, while Rotherham Titans and Hull Ionians would relegated to 2021–22 National League North and Canterbury to 2021–22 National League South.


2019–20 National League 1
Another interesting statistic from the season was Brandon Asher-Wood's 7 tries for Darlington Mowden Park's resounding win against Hull Ionians on 21 December 2019. Wood's tries equalled the league record of 7 previously set by Hugo Ellis of Rosslyn Park back in the 2012–13 season.


2019–20 National League 1, Structure
The league consists of sixteen teams with all the teams playing each other on a home and away basis to make a total of thirty matches each. There is one promotion place with the champions promoted to the Greene King IPA Championship. There are usually three relegation places with the bottom three teams relegated to either National League 2 North or National League 2 South depending on the geographical location of the team.


2019–20 National League 1, Structure
The results of the matches contribute points to the league as follows:


2019–20 National League 1, Participating teams and locations
Twelve of the sixteen teams participated in the preceding season's competition. The 2018–19 champions, Ampthill, were promoted to the 2019–20 RFU Championship, swapping places with bottom club, Richmond, who were relegated from the 2018–19 RFU Championship. Sides relegated from the 2018–19 National League 1 were Loughborough Students, Esher and Caldy.


2019–20 National League 1, Participating teams and locations
The teams promoted into the division were Hull Ionians and Rams, champions of 2018–19 National League 2 North and 2018–19 National League 2 South respectively, along with the south runners-up Canterbury, who defeated the north's Chester in the promotion play-off. Ionians return to the division after a season's absence, while Rams and Canterbury are debuting in National 1 – the highest level either club have reached since the leagues began.


2019–20 National League 1, Tables
At the date the leagues were suspended, the National League 1 table read as follows:


2019–20 National League 1, Tables
On 4 April, the RFU confirmed the final table for the season.


2019–20 National League 1, Season records, Team
92 – 7 Darlington Mowden Park at home to Hull Ionians on 21 December 2019


2019–20 National League 1, Season records, Team
50 – 0 Richmond away to Canterbury on 9 November 2019


2019–20 National League 1, Season records, Team
Darlington Mowden Park at home to Hull Ionians on 21 December 2019Richmond at home to Hull Ionians on 11 January 2020


2019–20 National League 1, Season records, Team
Darlington Mowden Park at home to Hull Ionians on 21 December 2019


2019–20 National League 1, Season records, Team
Old Elthamians at home to Plymouth Albion on 28 September 2019Birmingham Moseley at home to Sale FC on 2 November 2019Rosslyn Park at home to Chinnor on 9 November 2019Birmingham Moseley at home to Rams on 21 December 2019Sale FC away to Blackheath on 25 January 2020Blackheath at home to Plymouth Albion on 8 February 2020


2019–20 National League 1, Season records, Team
Plymouth Albion at home to Canterbury on 5 October 2019Sale FC at home to Rosslyn Park on 5 October 2019Bishop's Stortford at home to Rams on 26 October 2019


2019–20 National League 1, Season records, Attendances
Rosslyn Park at home to Richmond on 6 March 2020


2019–20 National League 1, Season records, Player
Brandon Asher-Wood for Darlington Mowden Park at home to Hull Ionians on 21 December 2019


2019–20 National League 1, Season records, Player
Warren Seals for Darlington Mowden Park at home to Birmingham Moseley on 30 November 2019


2019–20 National League 1, Season records, Player
Tom White for Old Elthamians at home to Plymouth Albion on 28 September 2019 Clifford Hodgson for Birmingham Moseley at home to Sale FC on 2 November 2019 Craig Holland for Rosslyn Park at home to Chinnor on 9 November 2019 Clifford Hodgson for Birmingham Moseley at home to Rams on 21 December 2019 Chris Johnson for Sale FC away to Blackheath on 25 January 2020 Mark Cooke for Blackheath at home to Plymouth Albion on 8 February 2020


2019–20 National League 1, Season records, Player
Connor Eastgate for Plymouth Albion at home to Canterbury on 5 October 2019 Chris Johnson for Sale FC at home to Rosslyn Park on 5 October 2019 Bradley Burr for Bishop's Stortford at home to Rams on 26 October 2019


2019–20 National League 2 North
The 2019–20 National League 2 North was the eleventh season (33rd overall) of the fourth tier (north) of the English domestic rugby union competitions since the professionalised format of the second division was introduced.


2019–20 National League 2 North
On 22 February Scunthorpe were the first side to be relegated after suffering a massive 109–12 defeat against Chester, going down with eight games still to play. Although it was a miserable season on the pitch for Scunthorpe, comfortably the weakest side in the division in terms of results, the loss of their player James Walker, who died earlier in the season was a far keener felt blow. On 7 March Caldy became champions with a resounding 49–5 win away to relegation threatened Preston Grasshoppers to seal an instant return to National League 1 and claim their second National League 2 North title.


2019–20 National League 2 North
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the Rugby Football Union officially cancelled the season on 20 March 2020, after an initially postponment of all rugby in England including training. After the cancellation was announced the RFU used a best playing record formula to decide the final table. With Caldy already promoted, Fylde claimed the runners up spot but missed out on promotion as the 2019–20 National League 2 South runner up, Tonbridge Juddian had a better comparative league record and went up instead (the playoff had been cancelled).


2019–20 National League 2 North
Joining Scunthorpe in the relegation spots were Preston Grasshoppers and Otley. Although Preston were as good as down by the time the leagues were suspended, Otley were in a real battle against Luctonians, and will feel hard done by. Scunthorpe will drop to Midlands Premier while Otley and Preston Grasshoppers will drop to North Premier. For Otley, once a second tier club, the drop to the regional leagues will be the lowest level they have played at since the 1990s.


2019–20 National League 2 North
The league was an interesting one in terms of National League 2 North records, included records that might have been achieved had the full 30 games been played. For instance, Caldy, with 25 wins out of 25 were looking to break the record of 28 wins (out of 30) set by Hull Ionians in the 2012–13 season. They may also have shattered the 134 point record set by Ionians during the 2014–15 season with a maximum of 144 achievable.


2019–20 National League 2 North
A club record that were achieved despite the premature ending were the 4 draws achieved by Huddersfield (breaking the record of 3 set by numerous teams), while Caldys Gavin Roberts, in finishing as league top scorer for the second time in his career, tied a record set by a number of other players such as the prolific Chris Johnson. Stourbridge's Dan Rundle, finishing as top try scorer with 30 tries would likely have beating the existing record of 32 tries in a season (set several times by Nick Royle).


2019–20 National League 2 North
While Caldy had been looking to break records, Scunthorpe were looking to avoid making any of their own. Although the early end of the season meant they wouldn't equal the 30 games lost by Manchester and Dudley Kingswinford in the 2010–11 and 2013–14 seasons respectively, the club's relegation was their third from the division - equalling Morley and Sheffield. A final record that was set was the league average league attendance which reached an all time divisional high of 348, helped by good regular attendances at the likes of Fylde, Hinckley and Wharfedale. This was the first time in recent seasons that the National League North average attendances trumped those in National League South.


2019–20 National League 2 North, Structure
The league consists of sixteen teams with all the teams playing each other on a home and away basis to make a total of thirty matches each. There is one automatic promotion place, one play-off place and three relegation places. The champions are promoted to the 2020–21 National League 1 and the runners up play the second-placed team in the 2019–20 National League 2 South with the winner also being promoted. The last three teams are relegated to either North Premier or Midlands Premier depending on the geographical location of the team (in some cases teams may join the southern regional leagues).


2019–20 National League 2 North, Structure
The results of the matches contribute points to the league as follows:


2019–20 National League 2 North, Participating teams and locations
Eleven of the teams listed below participated in the 2018–19 National League 2 North season. The 2018–19 champions, Hull Ionians, were promoted into the 2019–20 National League 1, replacing Caldy and Loughborough Students who were relegated from the 2018–19 National League 1. The three teams relegated from National League 2 North the previous season were Peterborough Lions and South Leicester (both Midlands Premier) and Macclesfield (North Premier).


2019–20 National League 2 North, Participating teams and locations
The promoted teams include Scunthorpe (champions) and Luctonians (play-offs) from Midlands Premier, while Hull come up as champions of North Premier. In order to address an imbalance of teams, Leicester Lions have been level transferred to the 2019–20 National League 2 South as the most appropriate located team in terms of access to the southern sides.


2019–20 National League 2 North, Tables
At the date the leagues were suspended, the National League 2 North table read as follows:


2019–20 National League 2 North, Tables
On 4 April, the Rugby Football Union confirmed the final table for the season.


2019–20 National League 2 North, Season records, Team
103 – 0 Caldy at home to Scunthorpe on 29 February 2020


2019–20 National League 2 North, Season records, Team
68 – 7 Caldy away to Scunthorpe on 9 November 201976 – 15 Stourbridge away to Scunthorpe on 1 February 2020


2019–20 National League 2 North, Season records, Team
109 – 12 Chester at home to Scunthorpe on 22 February 2020


2019–20 National League 2 North, Season records, Team
Chester at home to Scunthorpe on 22 February 2020Caldy at home to Scunthorpe on 29 February 2020


2019–20 National League 2 North, Season records, Team
Sedgley Park away to Hull on 16 November 2019Sedgley Park at home to Stourbridge on 18 January 2020


2019–20 National League 2 North, Season records, Attendances
Fylde at home to Preston Grasshoppers on 14 September 2019


2019–20 National League 2 North, Season records, Attendances
Scunthorpe at home to Luctonians on 23 November 2019Scunthorpe at home to Loughborough Students on 7 March 2020Scunthorpe at home to Chester on 14 March 2020


2019–20 National League 2 North, Season records, Player
Ben Jones for Caldy away to Scunthorpe on 9 November 2019


2019–20 National League 2 North, Season records, Player
Nick Royle for Caldy at home to Luctonians on 5 October 2019 Ben Jones for Caldy away to Scunthorpe on 9 November 2019 Nick Royle for Caldy at home to Scunthorpe on 29 February 2020


2019–20 National League 2 North, Season records, Player
Dan Pemberton for Chester at home to Scunthorpe on 23 February 2020


2019–20 National League 2 North, Season records, Player
Mark Ireland for Sheffield Tigers away to Otley on 7 March 2020


2019–20 National League 2 North, Season records, Player
Callum McShane for Sedgley Park away to Hull on 16 November 2019 Stephen Collins for Sedgley Park at home to Stourbridge on 18 January 2020


2019–20 National League 2 South
The 2019–20 National League 2 South was the eleventh season (33rd overall) of the fourth tier (south) of the English domestic rugby union competitions since the professionalised format of the second division was introduced.


2019–20 National League 2 South
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, the Rugby Football Union officially cancelled the season on 20 March 2020, after an initially postponment of all rugby in England including training. After the cancellation was announced the RFU used a best playing record formula to decide the final table. This meant that Taunton Titans, who were 3 points clear when the league was suspended, were promoted as champions along with runners up Tonbridge Juddians, who went up as the best runner up as they had more considerably more points than 2019–20 National League 2 North runner up Fylde.


2019–20 National League 2 South
The relegated teams included Bournemouth, Old Redcliffians and Sutton & Epsom, all of whom had occupied the bottom three spots before league suspension, with 14th placed Sutton & Epsom 13 points behind 13th placed Westcliff and safety. Taunton Titans and Tonbridge Juddians will join the 2021–22 National League 1 (the highest level either club have reached), while Bournemouth and Old Redcliffians drop down to South West Premier and Sutton & Epsom to London & South East Premier.


2019–20 National League 2 South
Other interesting news from the season was Taunton's Gary Kingdom who finished as top scorer in the division for the third time, tying him with Worthing Raiders prolific Matthew McLean. An unwanted record was also made with Tonbridge Juddians official attendance of 0 from their game Sutton & Epsom on 21 December 2019 being the lowest ever recorded in a National League 2 South game. This was due to the game being played behind closed doors due to safety concerns caused by flooding.


2019–20 National League 2 South, Structure
The league consists of sixteen teams with all the teams playing each other on a home and away basis to make a total of thirty matches each. There is one automatic promotion place, one play-off place and three relegation places. The champions are promoted to the 2020–21 National League 1 and the runners-up play the second-placed team in the 2019–20 National League 2 North with the winner being promoted. The last three teams are relegated to either London & South East Premier or South West Premier depending on the geographical location of the team (in some cases teams may join the Midlands regional leagues).


2019–20 National League 2 South, Structure
The results of the matches contribute points to the league as follows:


2019–20 National League 2 South, Participating teams and locations
Eleven of the teams listed below participated in the 2018–19 National League 2 South season. The 2018–19 champions Rams and play-off winners Canterbury, who won the promotion play-off against Chester, were promoted into the 2019–20 National League 1, while Esher were relegated into the division from the 2018–19 National League 1. Sides relegated from the 2018–19 National League 2 South included Birmingham & Solihull (to Greater Birmingham Merit Leagues), Guernsey (London & South East Premier) and London Irish Wild Geese (South West Premier). In the case of Birmingham & Solihull, they had initially been supposed to drop to Midlands Premier but on further reflection decided to become an amateur club and drop out of the league system.


2019–20 National League 2 South, Participating teams and locations
The promoted teams are Bournemouth who come up as champions of South West Premier while Sutton & Epsom (champions) and Westcliff (play-off) came up from London & South East Premier. Leicester Lions were level transferred into the division from National League 2 North in order to address an imbalance of teams in National 2, with Rams and Canterbury being promoted and only Esher dropping down from National League 1. Although there were several candidates for the level-transfer in the end Leicester Lions were deemed the most suitable due to being the most southerly club in a central position, making access to both the south-east and south-west more straightforward than alternatives such as Luctonians.


2019–20 National League 2 South, Tables
At the date the leagues were suspended, the National League 2 South table read as follows:


2019–20 National League 2 South, Tables
On 4 April, the Rugby Football Union confirmed the final table for the season.


2019–20 National League 2 South, Season records, Team
83 – 10 Tonbridge Juddians at home to Sutton & Epsom on 21 December 2019


2019–20 National League 2 South, Season records, Team
74 – 14 Tonbridge Juddians away to Sutton & Epsom on 14 September 2019


2019–20 National League 2 South, Season records, Team
Tonbridge Juddians at home to Sutton & Epsom on 21 December 2019


2019–20 National League 2 South, Season records, Team
Henley Hawks at home to Worthing Raiders on 5 October 2019Tonbridge Juddians at home to Taunton Titans on 5 October 2019Tonbridge Juddians at home to Sutton & Epsom on 21 December 2019


2019–20 National League 2 South, Season records, Team
Worthing Raiders at home to Old Redcliffians on 7 September 2019Taunton Titans at home to Bury St Edmunds on 23 November 2019


2019–20 National League 2 South, Season records, Team
Redruth at home to Old Redcliffians on 30 November 2019Bury St Edmunds at home to Tonbridge Juddians on 14 December 2019Leicester Lions away to Old Redcliffians on 7 March 2020


2019–20 National League 2 South, Season records, Attendances
Dings Crusaders at home to Clifton on 14 September 2019


2019–20 National League 2 South, Season records, Attendances
Tonbridge Juddians at home to Sutton & Epsom on 21 December 2019


2019–20 National League 2 South, Season records, Player
Tristan Roberts for Esher away to Barnes on 14 September 2019


2019–20 National League 2 South, Season records, Player
Murray Galbraith-Lowe for Tonbridge Juddians at home to Taunton Titans on 5 October 2019 Ewan Fenley for Henley Hawks away to Dings Crusaders on 30 November 2019


2019–20 National League 2 South, Season records, Player
Ben Bolster for Henley Hawks at home to Worthing Raiders on 5 October 2019 Will Robinson for Tonbridge Juddians at home to Taunton Titans on 5 October 2019 Will Robinson for Tonbridge Juddians at home to Sutton & Epsom on 21 December 2019


2019–20 National League 2 South, Season records, Player
Matthew McLean for Worthing Raiders at home to Old Redcliffians on 7 September 2019 Gary Kingdom for Taunton Titans at home to Bury St Edmunds on 23 November 2019